Remember this guy? Former NSU star now playing Aussie football

As a standout forward at Nicholls State University, Australian-born Ryan Bathie was gracious and immensely gifted.

He scored with style and finesse – often avoiding contact to shoot over the top of outstretched defenders. The end result was textbook – the way basketball is supposed to look to anyone competing in the sport at a high level of competition.

For his efforts, Bathie graduated from Nicholls and was one of the lucky few blessed to be able to continue playing the sport at the professional level.

But after a while, the tall, lanky Australian decision to change his routine and try something else. Instead of hoops, Bathie got into Aussie Rules Football. Instead of finesse and style, Bathie now makes a living on physicality and chaos.

The former Colonel said he’s been a professional Aussie Rules Football player for several years now in the Australian Football League – a league that is wildly popular down under.

Bathie said the entire experience has been unique, but fulfilling – a complete opposite transition from his career in basketball shorts.

“I had only played a few games of football in high school,” Bathie said with a laugh. “So when I got started, all I knew was the basics. I had those down – just like every Australian should. So I went from there and made the decision to change to football, and so far, it’s been great. I love it.”

Bathie may tout his love for his current gig today, but the truth is that he had no idea when he departed Nicholls that another sport would be in his future plans.

The 6-foot, 7-inch, 220-pound standout forward graduated from the Colonels program after the 2008-09 season – a year that saw Bathie average 16 points, 5 rebounds and 2 assists per game as Nicholls’ primary offensive option.

For his efforts, Bathie signed with the Melbourne Tigers out of college – a professional team in Australia’s National Basketball League (NBL).

In the pro game, Bathie wasn’t able to find the same level of success as he did in college. He averaged just more than a point per game in his rookie season and was not a significant impact player for the Tigers.

So instead of pursuing a second season with the Tigers, Bathie decided to tackle a different sport. After the 2010 basketball season, he said he made the decision to join the Australian Football League (AFL) – one of the most popular sporting leagues in the country.

Bathie signed initially with the Geelong Cats after being a fourth round pick in the AFL’s rookie draft. The former Colonel spent three seasons with Geelong before he found a new home this offseason and inked with the Richmond Tigers – another team within the league.

Bathie is a “Ruckman” in the AFL. Players of that position are usually tall and athletic. Their main job is to deflect or contest plays in the center of the field. According to the AFL’s official website, a ruckman is similar to a center in basketball – often standing close to 7-feet tall.

“It was all spontaneous how this happened, to be honest with you,” Bathie said. “I played the one season of basketball, then I made the decision to change to AFL football. I just sort of adjusted my training immediately and got ready for my new sport. Around 2010 in June or July, I picked it up and officially started training for footy.”

“Footy”, as Bathie called it, is a common name for the sport in which the former Colonel plays. For anyone unfamiliar with Aussie Rules football, it is a game played by two teams of 18 players. It is called football because the objective is similar to our Americanized game, as each team’s goal is to penetrate the ball deep onto the opponent’s end of the field.

Once on the opponent’s side of the pitch, the objective is to boot the ball through two goal posts – similar to a field goal in the NFL game.

To push the ball forward, one may kick it down the field (like in soccer) or he may run with it through the defense. If a player makes the decision to run with the football, the player must intentionally bounce or dribble the ball periodically to keep play moving forward.

Players must not hold the ball without forward progress. Failure to yield to that rule will result in a loss of possession.

“Our game is a very talent-driven game,” Bathie said. “It has a mixture of so many different sports and rules combined. I think the main sports it resembles are the NFL, basketball and soccer. But you need to be able to do everything well to succeed at it. It’s a game that requires so many different skills.”

But while the rules of the game blend basketball, soccer and NFL action, it’s the contact that makes the sport popular in Australia.

In Australian football, full-contact tackling is permitted by the defense in their attempts to jar the ball free from the offense and regain possession.

But here’s the trick of it all. The players on the field are not in full pads, nor do they wear a helmet during the game.

The customary AFL attire is tanktop and shorts – almost identical to a basketball uniform. Some players wear knee gear of shin padding. Others don’t even do that.

Several studies by sports scientists have claimed that Aussie Rules Football players are pound for pound the toughest athletes in the world of sports because of the game’s physicality.

“You need everything to succeed at this game,” Bathie said. “You need aerobic capacity, high speed, great hand-eye coordination and all of those things. But you also have to be very tough. You have to have strength, agility and timing, because there’s a good bit of contact that we have to endure in the matches.”

But it’s all wildly popular – the most heavily followed sport in Australia, according to television ratings throughout the continent.

Bathie said there are 18 teams in the AFL and each team has a $10 million salary cap to field its roster. That means that those within the league are making a healthy living for themselves, while playing the rough and tumble game.

Competing and making good money to do it – what a great life for one to live.

That has been Bathie’s plan all along.

The sport is just different today.